The application, originally filed in August 2011 and made public Thursday, describes "thin flexible display technology" which can be integrated into the cover. This secondary display, Apple believes, would "greatly enhance" the overall functionality of the tablet.

The concept opens up a lot of possibilities. The secondary display, as described in Apple's patent application, could simply display notifications related to what's happening on the iPad (the name of the movie currently playing, for example).

It could also be a full-fledged companion to the main screen, sporting a virtual keyboard or another set of application icons.